Fastpass return time

[joanna71985]

I would love it if FP could be removed from Toy Story Mania. There were times I hated working Merge there, because of FP issues

 

[the-reason14]

I would love it if FP could be removed from Toy Story Mania. There were times I hated working Merge there, because of FP issues

If they did, they betta bring back the singles line.:goodnevil

 

[RoRo]

Never happened to me because I read the fastpass ticket. Also when it first came out there was a whole big explanation in the guidemaps about it.

 

[Phonedave]

I would LOVE to see video or written proof that this has ever happened. The idea that 200 people showed up at once or even within a 5 minute period to one attraction is mind boggling. And if that family was cutting it close enough that anything past 25 minutes would put them in risk of missing their reservation then part of the blame belongs to them. We don't do any rides within 30 minutes of our reservations to ensure that we're on time(or actually 15 minutes early as per what Disney says to be).

That said, until Disney actually comes across and says that it's a hard rule to be in that 1 hour window I will continue to hoard FP's and use them at our discretion.

Here is a tip. You can show up late for your ADR as well. I have done it. I was 45 minutes late to Chef's du France once, and they still fit me in.

So go ahead, hoard the FP's and then eat whenever you want, it's all good.

OK, all sarcasm aside. What train of thought tells you that even though the FP has a return window printed on it, its OK to ignore because its not a hard rule.

but

The same thing applies to ADRs (you can easily show up later than 15 minutes before your scheduled time), yet in your own words you do "what you are supposed to do"?


-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Depending on the backup at Fastpass potentially caused by an influx of both many people returning at the very minute their FastPass becomes valid as well as people who have been hoarding them all day (a likely scenario), clearing FastPass becomes a top priority to guarantee the wait in that queue is no longer than 15 minutes.

When I worked a FastPass attraction a few years ago, I was specifically instructed at times to let in as many as 90 FP for every 10 standby, by management, when our FP line was severely backed up.

Thank you. That verifies what happened to me, when I saw 75 FP holders go through the merge in one shot.

Does anybody know - for a fact, not a guess - the number of FP's that are allotted for a given ride in any one hour window. I assume it varies based on ride throughput.

I would love to know that for something like TSMM or even Soarin'. If I knew for example that TSMM allots 300 FP's for a one hour window, I would stand by the FP line and see how many people use the FP over the course of a late afternoon hour.

Heck, I may even break it down to 5 minute time slots and run some distribution analysis on it.I may even do that on day just for the heck of it. It's all that project management . construction productivity / Staff engineering junk in me coming out. Maybe they will offer me a job. Seriously, I would hope that they do this every so often as a park management protocol.

 

[mickey2008.1]

We know its okay to go later, but we always plan our FPs to be on time, reason being, i dont like it when it happens to me and im on time but have to wait longer in the evenings. The thing about FP that bugs me is they run out way too early on tsmm, i know, get there earlier, but by 10am? really?:brick:

 

[draybook]

Here is a tip. You can show up late for your ADR as well. I have done it. I was 45 minutes late to Chef's du France once, and they still fit me in.

So go ahead, hoard the FP's and then eat whenever you want, it's all good.

OK, all sarcasm aside. What train of thought tells you that even though the FP has a return window printed on it, its OK to ignore because its not a hard rule.

but

The same thing applies to ADRs (you can easily show up later than 15 minutes before your scheduled time), yet in your own words you do "what you are supposed to do"?


-dave

Your sarcasm might have been funny had I not already explained that we don't do rides or anything close to our ADR's. Keep sitting on your high horse and meanwhile I'll keep sneaking in there and get as many FP's as possible. Guess I have no honor or morals.

 

[Courtney1188]

I don't blame anyone for thinking that the window is a rule either. The FP leads you to believe it is. I believed it for a time.

The reason my brother and I started out bi-coastal quiz of FP castmembers was that he was not aware you could use "late" FPs. I told him you could, but it wasn't encouraged. So, he asked while he was in DL. He said he was in fact encouraged to use late FPs.

This took me by surprise. So when I was at WDW, I started asking there. Same experience. The cast members I talked to were very clear that FPs did not expire.

Very strange...as a CP in 07 at M:S, I was not to take FPs outside their time window unless they were only a bit late, say within a half hour or so.

 

[MrNonacho]

Very strange...as a CP in 07 at M:S, I was not to take FPs outside their time window unless they were only a bit late, say within a half hour or so.

I think you got a bum trainer. Late arrivals are definitely OK at Space. The place hardly ever has a Fastpass line to begin with.

 

[Courtney1188]

I think you got a bum trainer. Late arrivals are definitely OK at Space. The place hardly ever has a Fastpass line to begin with.

I definitely had a bum trainer, so that's not too surprising to hear.

 

[muse1983]

In my opinion I feel that showing up late for your fast past time that was alloted to you is dis-respectful and only causes the FP line to go slower than it was meant to go. It's really simple people, just show up within the hour they ask you to. I went with a group of 6 people and we all managed to be on time to all of our fast pass times.

 

[Monsterfan99]

I always here people say (in this thread as well) that "It increases my wait in the stand-by line that had a posted time of (x minutes.)" If you know this and are bothered by it, why use the stand-by line on a major FP attraction? It's part of the Fast Pass and every other line skip system. It happens with Universal, Six Flags and any other chain.

Are you actualy telling me that if I walk up to a line, look at it and then think it is too long, that a CM will read my expressions and rectify the situation proactively?

I have been to WDW at least a dozen times, stood on countless lines, stood on lines that said wait time 20 minutes for 90+, and stood there at the merge point and watched 75+ FP people go in front of me in one shot, and I can count on one hand - no, correction, one finger, the number of times a CM did anything for me. It was ONCE, and that was most likely because it was his job (dream squad member) and he could see the dejected look on my daughters face when I told her we did not have time to ride TestTrack.

-dave

In August of last year at Rock-n-Roller Coaster we got child swap and walk back tickets if we look disappointed the single rider line is closed at 2. It was a one time thing and not planned, but it does happen.

For the 75-1 one, it is somewhat close to the numbers I've been told by cast members. They are always told to make it 75%-25% or 80%-20% for the FP.

 

[Monty]

Thank you. That verifies what happened to me, when I saw 75 FP holders go through the merge in one shot.

Does anybody know - for a fact, not a guess - the number of FP's that are allotted for a given ride in any one hour window. I assume it varies based on ride throughput.

I would love to know that for something like TSMM or even Soarin'. If I knew for example that TSMM allots 300 FP's for a one hour window, I would stand by the FP line and see how many people use the FP over the course of a late afternoon hour.

Heck, I may even break it down to 5 minute time slots and run some distribution analysis on it.I may even do that on day just for the heck of it. It's all that project management . construction productivity / Staff engineering junk in me coming out. Maybe they will offer me a job. Seriously, I would hope that they do this every so often as a park management protocol.

Counting how many enter in a one-hour stretch won't give you an accurate determination of how many return within their window. In any given one-hour period, you will have an hour and fifty-five minutes' worth of FPs whose allotted windows will include that time-frame.

To be exactly right, you'd have to factor in a full day's observation of entry into the FP line in five-minute increments and account for unused FPs and Child-swap usage as well as any special FPs granted by Guest Relations to guests who have gone with complaints/problems to GR. On some rides, perhaps all, CMs also can have extra FPs that they can hand out for whatever reason.

Roughly translated, I doubt it's possible to make a determination independent of access to Disney's records of how many FPs are issued for a given period and how many are actually used within said period. :shrug:

 

[joanna71985]

If they did, they betta bring back the singles line.:goodnevil

I wish they would bring it back now! I miss the single rider line so much

 

[Phonedave]

Your sarcasm might have been funny had I not already explained that we don't do rides or anything close to our ADR's. Keep sitting on your high horse and meanwhile I'll keep sneaking in there and get as many FP's as possible. Guess I have no honor or morals.

I did notice that you said you make an effort to make your ADR's - that was the reason for the sarcasm. You seem to make an effort to be on time to one scheduled appointment, but openly ignore an other.

Again, so the question is

Why is it wrong to show up late for your ADR's but it's OK to show up late for your FP.

One or the other. Either being on time is the right thing to do, or it's not. Make your choice.

It's that you have no honor or morals, it's that you do not have consistent honor or morals, and I am intrigued as to why.

-dave

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I did notice that you said you make an effort to make your ADR's - that was the reason for the sarcasm. You seem to make an effort to be on time to one scheduled appointment, but openly ignore an other.

Again, so the question is

Why is it wrong to show up late for your ADR's but it's OK to show up late for your FP.

One or the other. Either being on time is the right thing to do, or it's not. Make your choice.

It's that you have no honor or morals, it's that you do not have consistent honor or morals, and I am intrigued as to why.

-dave

The question wasn't addressed to me, but I'll chime in.

I'd feel a lot more guilty for showing up to a dinner reservation late than returning a FastPass outside its window, because I'd be aware of the negative impact my tardiness had on the restaurant staff — wondering whether or not I'd make it, and then choosing whether or not to hold a table that I might or might not fill. It would be a genuine disruption to their work, and depending on their choice, it might force another hungry family to wait a long time for a table.

By contrast, if I (individually) redeem a FastPass outside its window, I don't see where I'm creating any more work for the Cast Members or having an appreciable impact on other guests. The ride hasn't been held up for me, as a table at the restaurant might have been. Other guests who were in line during my FastPass window didn't have to wait to ride because I was "supposed" to be there at that time (and as a result, rode faster than they otherwise would have).

I can see the argument that I've lengthened the Standby wait for anyone on line at the time I return, but the impact is so negligible I can't imagine that it's ruined anyone's day. The rebuttal here would probably be "Well, if EVERYONE took that approach..." to which I can only reply that I'm not everyone. I'm responsible for my own actions and the results thereof.

(For special cases — i.e., I'm part of a group of 100 and we all redeem our FastPasses right at park closing — this argument wouldn't be so clear to me, but I'm referring to the general case of one person or one small party returning during regular operating hours.)

So...while the impact of one individual party at a restaurant is significant, the impact of one party on an attraction queue is comparably tiny. I believe the only relevant moral/ethical consideration is the impact of my actions on other people, so I would see a very clear distinction between the two situations.

I suppose other people (like yourself) might disagree on this, but the reasoning seems consistent to me!

 

[Monty]

I generally attempt to use FPs within the allotted window and arrive at least 15 minutes before my ADR times. But I don't stress over it if I'm delayed by other things and end up arriving late.

For example:

If I arrive at Soarin' to pick up FPs and the posted return times conflict with my Le Cellier ADR, I will take the FPs as issued and show up after the window rather than try to come back later when the return times are at a more convenient time. I have no way of knowing when the right time would be to come back and since I'm already there it's easier.

If I am delayed getting to that same ADR at Le Cellier for some reason, a line posted as a 15 minute wait ends up being 45 or Disney Transport doesn't show up in a reasonable time frame and I'm late getting to EPCOT, I won't forego the ADR just because I'm late.

Disney has the sense to recognise that when you're in their Theme Parks with the massive amounts of distractions that they've put in place to keep you busy and entertained it's quite likely you won't always be on time for things that you've got specific times set up for, some of which were set up 6 months in advance.

Do some people "take advantage" of Disney's policies for their own benefit? Of course. Is it the end of civilization as we know it? Not even remotely.

SSSsshhhhh.....


It happens!

 

[Phonedave]

The question wasn't addressed to me, but I'll chime in.

I'd feel a lot more guilty for showing up to a dinner reservation late than returning a FastPass outside its window, because I'd be aware of the negative impact my tardiness had on the restaurant staff — wondering whether or not I'd make it, and then choosing whether or not to hold a table that I might or might not fill. It would be a genuine disruption to their work, and depending on their choice, it might force another hungry family to wait a long time for a table.

By contrast, if I (individually) redeem a FastPass outside its window, I don't see where I'm creating any more work for the Cast Members or having an appreciable impact on other guests. The ride hasn't been held up for me, as a table at the restaurant might have been. Other guests who were in line during my FastPass window didn't have to wait to ride because I was "supposed" to be there at that time (and as a result, rode faster than they otherwise would have).

I can see the argument that I've lengthened the Standby wait for anyone on line at the time I return, but the impact is so negligible I can't imagine that it's ruined anyone's day. The rebuttal here would probably be "Well, if EVERYONE took that approach..." to which I can only reply that I'm not everyone. I'm responsible for my own actions and the results thereof.

(For special cases — i.e., I'm part of a group of 100 and we all redeem our FastPasses right at park closing — this argument wouldn't be so clear to me, but I'm referring to the general case of one person or one small party returning during regular operating hours.)

So...while the impact of one individual party at a restaurant is significant, the impact of one party on an attraction queue is comparably tiny. I believe the only relevant moral/ethical consideration is the impact of my actions on other people, so I would see a very clear distinction between the two situations.

I suppose other people (like yourself) might disagree on this, but the reasoning seems consistent to me!

It is the same.

They are not going to hold your table open for you, they will seat the next party. When you show up they will shoehorn you into the queue just like they do with the FP.

Some family will end up getting called earlier for their reservation, and some family will be called later that they would have - just like with the FP.

The FP difference in times may only be a minute, while the dining times may be more on the order of 10 or 15, but it is still the same effect.

Notice I am not saying showing up late is wrong or right - I am just saying it is the same for dining as it is for FP. If you have a problem with one, then you need to think about why you don't have a problem with the other.

For the record, I try to be on time for both FP and ADRs, but I have at times been late to both. I apologized to the CM, but I still got in line.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

I generally attempt to use FPs within the allotted window and arrive at least 15 minutes before my ADR times. But I don't stress over it if I'm delayed by other things and end up arriving late.

For example:

If I arrive at Soarin' to pick up FPs and the posted return times conflict with my Le Cellier ADR, I will take the FPs as issued and show up after the window rather than try to come back later when the return times are at a more convenient time. I have no way of knowing when the right time would be to come back and since I'm already there it's easier.

If I am delayed getting to that same ADR at Le Cellier for some reason, a line posted as a 15 minute wait ends up being 45 or Disney Transport doesn't show up in a reasonable time frame and I'm late getting to EPCOT, I won't forego the ADR just because I'm late.

Disney has the sense to recognise that when you're in their Theme Parks with the massive amounts of distractions that they've put in place to keep you busy and entertained it's quite likely you won't always be on time for things that you've got specific times set up for, some of which were set up 6 months in advance.

Do some people "take advantage" of Disney's policies for their own benefit? Of course. Is it the end of civilization as we know it? Not even remotely.

SSSsshhhhh.....


It happens!

Thats about how I operate too. I realize that an appointment is an appointment. It may be for dinner, a ride, a event, or any other reason. Ignore them, skirt around them, or obey them to the letter if you want, but they are all appointments, and most likely important to somone else as well as yourself.

To people who never do TS dining, I am sure they could care less about who come on time to an ADR, just as I am sure there are people who don't go for the attractions and could give a flying fig about FP return times.

-dave



-dave

 

[durangojim]

What I don't understand is that if people show up later than the "given" time on the ticket, doesn't that mean that the FP line during that time will be shorter therefore also making the standby line shorter? Also, there are people that don't show up at all, and it's doubtful that hundreds of people show up late at the same time. Everything pretty much gets evened out in the end, and that's probably why Disney doesn't care if you show up late on the same day.